THE CIMMERIAN: HOUR OF THE DRAGON #1 – Review

THE CIMMERIAN: HOUR OF THE DRAGON #1, from Ablaze Publishing on March 9th, 2022, puts Conan the Barbarian at the mercy of a resurrected wizard to become a pawn in a plan for world domination.

The Details

• Written By: Julien Blondel
• Art By: Valentin Sécher
• Colors By: Valentin Sécher
• Letters By: Valentin Sécher
• Cover Art By: Dan Panosian (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: March 9, 2022

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Was It Good?

There’s something to be said for a pure, grim, savage Conan story that stirs the blood. THE CIMMERIAN: HOUR OF THE DRAGON #1 is just such a story.

Before we get into it, we’ve had Ablaze Publishing on our radar for a while now because they’ve taken the unusual step of faithfully translating the original Robert E. Howard stories into comic book form, and we’re pleased as punch to review their efforts for you. If Crom wills it, we’ll provide you with a steady supply of Ablaze’s works. Now, let’s get on to it.

Truly, this review is going to be a little difficult. On the one hand, this is an almost exact adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s story, The Hour Of The Dragon, published circa 1935. Besides some bits of dialog and little adjustments here and there, it is the original story. So, to critique the comic’s story would be to critique Robert E. Howard’s story written at a different time and in a different format. Instead, this review will focus on the effectiveness of the adaptation and the art quality.

The adaptation aspect is relatively seamless. Usually, when adapting long-form writing into comics, liberties and shortcuts are taken to summarize plot points to fit within panels and the number of pages. Sometimes those shortcuts work out, often they do not. Here, Blondel distills the essence of the story into its core components in a way that keeps the narrative intact while not bogging down the panels with tons of exposition and narration. As adaptations go, this is one of the best results you’ll likely ever see.

Writers adapt the work into a usable script, but it’s up to the artists to bring it to life and fill the gaps where needed. Sécher’s artistry in this comic is phenomenal. There isn’t a single panel that isn’t dripping with grim, dramatic, gritty savagery. The panel composition is used to maximize the epic scale of battle, the character designs are grounded enough to feel cinematic but not so outlandish as to look cartoony or out of place. The minor down point is that some characters are cast in so much shadow that they lose some distinctiveness. For this story, it’s not a major detriment but the leaders responsible for resurrecting Xaltotun sometimes look interchangeable.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

We begin with a trio of power-hungry priests and lords who’ve entered an ancient tomb. Their goal is to resurrect an ancient, evil wizard, Xoltutan, in exchange for the power to defeat their rivals and grow their kingdoms. Their mission is a success.

Soon, the trio’s forces confront the army of their most hated for, Conan of Cimmeria. When the forces attack, Conan’s army drives the invader back to a narrow mountain pass. The invasion appears lost, but Xoltutan’s plan for conquest is just beginning.

We conclude the issue with magic victorious over muscle, Conan’s last stand, and the wizard revealing he has plans more sinister than the trio’s greed.

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